Of Love, Prophecies, and Bets
by mellamaet
Summary: Their Divination professor reveals a prophecy about Ginny and Draco.What will they do?


ok :D here's my second HP fanfic :D sorry its soo long :D

hope you guys like it. and btw. **I DID NOT MAKE UP ANY CHARACTERS HERE. ALL OF THEM ARE OWNED BY JK ROWLING. I REPEAT ALL OF THEM.**

sorry if its crappy. i sort of rushed it towards the end :D

* * *

"Ginny! Wait up! You can't just leave Divination while class is going on!" Colin Creevey yelled out as he ran down the stairs to catch up with his best friend

"Well guess what Colin? I just did!" Ginny snapped as she left the divination tower and marched down the quiet corridors of Hogwarts.

"Ginny, come on, calm down, I'm sure Trelawney's little prophecy won't even come true! Colin said

"You with eyes of earth and hair of fire, and he with hair of sunlight and eyes of mercury will join together. But like two bright stars colliding with one another, they will cause an explosion, and possibly greater harm than he, who's soul no longer whole and heart no longer pure" Ginny murmured softly to herself as she shivered gently at the creepiness of the words that came out of their professor's mouth.

"What do you think it means?" Colin asked as they walked down the corridor

"I, for one, think that Gryffindor would be losing 20 points in less than a minute." a familiar voice drawled from behind them

Ginny swiftly turned around to find Malfoy smirking at them.

Ginny glared at the Slytherin as she stepped closer to him "I dare you. I dare you to subtract points from me because of something that you just happen to be doing as well."

Colin looked nervously at the two of them "Ginny, don't say that, we might lose the house cup…everyone knows that we're just a few points ahead of Slytherin."

"That's right Weaselette, you wouldn't want to lose the house cup to us, perfectly-superior-than-other-houses, Slytherins."

Ginny rolled her eyes and resorted to glaring at the platinum-haired lad.

Suddenly a voice said from the other side of the corridor said "now, now, Draco be nice to the little Gryffindors."

"Finally finished your patrol, Pans?" Draco said with a smirk as he watched Pansy walk past the Gryffindors and stood right next of him

"Yeah, But it seems I can't say the same for you, and here I was hoping that we could get back to the common room early because I need help with potions." Pansy said with a sigh "I caught a sniveling little first year today, sent it to detention with Snape, I can't wait to see what he does to the first year" She said with a very Slytherin smirk

"As interesting as this all sounds, I really don't care" Ginny said in a bored tone as she looked Malfoy firmly at the eye.

Draco walked over towards Ginny with a smirk on his face until they were only inches apart. Ginny's breath became ragged as she stared at Malfoy's deep, gray – almost mercury – orbs.

_Eyes of Mercury_

Ginny's breath hitched at the realization as she continued on watching him, his face drawing closer to hers with every second that passed.

When they were only centimeters apart, with Draco's hot breath against her face causing shivers to run down her spine, he whispered in her ear "falling for me, Weaselette?"

It took a moment for Ginny to snap out of the drunkenness that his proximity caused. "In your dreams Malfoy" Ginny said breathlessly as she turned on her heel, his long red hair whipping his face in the process, and walked away with Colin trailing right behind.

The two walked in silence until they reached the portrait hole where the fat lady was eating a bowl of grapes

"Password?" the Fat Lady said after swallowing a mouthful of grapes

"Courage, Determination and Strength" Ginny said tiredly as she entered the common room followed by Colin

"Am I the only one who noticed that we have an extremely lame password?" Colin said as he sat down on a chair next to Ginny's in front of the fire "I mean, Ravenclaws have riddles, Slytherin has their apparent disgust with muggle-borns as their password, and well Hufflepuff….well nobody actually cares about Hufflepuff so whatever."

"well, nobody cares anyway since the Fat Lady likes to change the password every week, even if we have a terrible password no one would care" Ginny said

"Yeah, you're right" Colin said "anyway, what was that a while ago?"

"What was what?" Ginny asked as she looked at the boy beside her

"You know, the thing with Malfoy"

"What thing with Malfoy?" Ginny ask as she tilted her head to the side in confusion

"You were flirting with him Ginny! Shamelessly flirting with him! Right at the middle of the corridor!" Colin said as he waved his arms to show the seriousness of the situation

Ginny laughed until she realized that he was serious "you're not kidding, aren't you? Oh Merlin! You think I would stoop so low as to flirt with the most arrogant ferret in Hogwarts?"

"It was just an errant thought" Colin muttered softly as he averted Ginny's glare and stared at the fire

"Eeew, me, flirting with Malfoy…disgusting" Ginny muttered softly as she shuddered then laughed until Colin joined in as well.

A few minutes later The Golden Trio entered the room with their books under their arms

"Hey gin, how was your classes?" Ron asked his sister as he placed his books on a table and sat down on Ginny's arm rest

"It was alright I suppose, I walked out of Divination today" Ginny said

"Normally I would be angry with you for walking out of your classes today, but since its divination, she probably deserved it" Hermione said as she tied her hair into a messy ponytail and gathered Ron's discarded books in her arms

"Hermione has a sore spot for divination" Harry explained with a laugh

"What happened?" Ginny asked as she turned to face the emerald-eyed boy

"Trelawney told her that she had an old soul" Ron said barely keeping the laughter from erupting from inside him as he fell off the chair laughing

"Oh shut up Ron!" Hermione said as she threw a book at him

"What did she do to you Ginny?" Harry asked as he took Ron's place on the arm rest

"She said a little prophecy for Ginny" Colin said

"Oh, what was it?" Ron asked when he got up from the ground holding the book that Hermione threw at him

"Something about hair of fire, eyes of earth, and hair of sunshine and eyes of mercury" Ginny said

Hermione huffed and said "it's all codswallop if you ask me"

"Yeah, codswallop…" Ginny murmured softly

* * *

Breakfast at the great hall was noisier than usual the next day since it was the first Quidditich game of the season, and since last year, everyone has been looking forward to another game between Gryffindor and Slytherin.

Ginny sat down on the Gryffindor table in between Hermione and Katie Bell, who was busy talking to Angelina Johnson about Quidditch strategies.

Ginny was absently poking the eggs on her bacon and egg breakfast which caused the yolk to break and spread all over the plate.

"You should really eat something Ginny, it's not advisable to play a Quidditch match with an empty stomach" Luna's dreamy voice suddenly said from behind her

Ginny turned around to face her Ravenclaw friend and said "Thanks Luna, and that's a nice hat."

"Yes, it is, isn't it? The lion head was getting a bit too small for me, so I decided to make a new one"

Ginny smiled in reply and turned back to her breakfast.

* * *

After breakfast all the students rushed towards the Quidditch pitch, eager to watch the Slytherin-Gryffindor game.

"Welcome to Quidditch! I'm your commentator, Lee Jordan!" Lee said from the stands as the students all sat down eagerly, ignoring the biting of the cold morning air.

"We've all been looking forward to this year's Slytherin-Gryffindor match, since last year's defeat of the Slytherins by the Gryffindors by means of Gryffindor's seeker, Harry Potter's, wonderful seeking skills"

At this the Gryffindors all launched into a happy applause, recalling the day that they beat the Slytherin team because of ,what Lee Jordan happily calls it, Harry Potter's wonderful seeking skills.

At this moment madam hooch entered the stadium, signaling the players to enter as well. The stadium was filled with the deafening roar of the students' applause and enthusiastic cheers from the stands

"Here comes the Gryffindor team!" Lee Jordan said as players in red and gold flew into the stadium

Ginny looked around and felt the familiar feeling of adrenaline pumping through her veins.

"And here comes the Slytherin team" Lee Jordan announced as students in green and silver robes flew into the air.

"The players take their positions as madam hooch prepares to throw the Quaffle to start the game" Lee Jordan said, excitement evident in his voice

Madam Hooch then blew her black whistle and threw the Quaffle into the air, signaling the start of the game

"And the Quaffle is released!" Lee Jordan said

"Slytherin takes possession of the Quaffle!" Lee Jordan says over the deafening shouts of the Slytherins "Slytherin chaser, Graham Montague is keeping a firm grip on that Quaffle as Katie Bell and Angelina Johnson, tag team to try to get the Quaffle"

Ginny rose higher into the air as she looked at the game from a vantage point, she saw Harry just below her, looking around for the snitch; on the other side of the field she could see Draco Malfoy doing the same thing, keeping a steady eye on the pitch, looking for any hint of gold.

Ginny stared at Malfoy for a few minutes, grudgingly admiring how at ease he was despite the tension of the game, how his platinum-blonde hair reflected the light from the sun.

_Hair of Sunlight_

Suddenly Ginny noticed the frantic shouting from below her, Harry was gesturing wildly at her, telling her to get out of the way, Ginny looked ahead, only to find a raging bludger flying towards her.

Ginny was frozen in fear, she closed her eyes and waited for the pain to come, but it never did.

"Am I dead?" she murmured softly as she kept her eyes closed

"No, not yet" a deep voice said, his throat bubbling with laughter

Ginny opened her eyes and saw Gryffindor beater, Andrew Kirke right in front of her.

"Andrew Kirke hits the Bludger and successfully saves Gryffindor chaser, Ginny Weasley" Lee Jordan said in a loud happy voice as the pitch erupted into applause.

"Wow Kirke, I'm thankful that one of the few times you actually manage to hit a bludger was to save me." Ginny said with a teasing smile "Thanks"

Andrew nodded in reply as he watched Ginny fly off towards Katie and Angelina ready to kick Slytherin butt.

At that moment the crowd grew quiet; Ginny looked down and saw Harry and Malfoy, neck and neck chasing after a small golden ball

"The Seekers have spotted the snitch!" Lee Jordan announced as everyone, including most of the teachers, scooted towards the edges of their seats to watch"

Ginny drew in a deep breath and pleaded desperately to Merlin that Harry get to the snitch first.

Suddenly Lee Jordan broke into a triumphant grin as he announced "Harry Potter has caught the snitch! Gryffindor wins the game!"

A loud applause was heard from the stands as scarves, hats, and other items of red and gold were flung into the air in a sign of victory.

"We won! We won!" Katie shouted out happily as she enveloped Ginny and Angelina into a fierce hug

Ginny laughed as she slowly descended to the ground with her teammates; soon they were all crushed into bone-breaking hugs as the happy Gryffindors celebrated their first victory for the season.

* * *

The aura of the Gryffindor can't be described with anything less than festive; everyone was having a great time, drinking butter beer by the fire or hanging decorations for the party later on.

In the girls' dormitories, the ladies were busy helping out one another in choosing outfits, applying make up, tips on their dates and other usual stuff.

Ginny brought out a blue dress from her trunk, one of the few not-so-old looking ones that she had, and laid it at the bed. When Hermione caught sight of what she was wearing she shook her head and said "Ginny, I love you, but you aren't seriously considering on wearing that were you? It's ghastly!"

Ginny could feel her fiery temper sizzling but she kept her face composed as she looked at Hermione "well, I don't have any other dresses 'Mione, do you suggest I go down there in my knickers?"

"As much as dislike Granger, I totally agree with her; Ginny, blue will clash with your hair, marvelous by the way, how it looks like fire cascading down you back" Lavender said as she tossed Ginny's dress back into her trunk "you should wear something light, like white or cream"

"Wait, what did you say?" Ginny said as she looked at lavender that was digging through her multiple trunks looking for a dress for Ginny to wear

"I said you should wear light colored clothes?" lavender said, confused on why Ginny was making her repeat her statement

"No, before that" Ginny said as she frowned slightly "something about my hair"

"Oh yeah!" lavender smiled at the recollection "I said, your hair looks like fire; I wish my hair was that red!"

"Fire…" Ginny murmured softly as she touched her Weasley red hair

_Hair of Fire_

"Ginny? Ginny?" lavender said as she snapped her fingers in front of her face

"Huh?"

"I just found the perfect dress for you!" lavender said with a smile as she brought out a white dress with a deep neckline and thick golden belt around it "you can have it"

Ginny's breath hitched at the sight of the beautiful dress as it floated in front of her, as if an invisible manikin was holding it up. "Thank you Lavender…but I can't have it, I wouldn't want to ask too much of you"

Lavender smiled at her gently and said "It wouldn't be too much really, even though Ron and I aren't together anymore, I still look at you as a sister, I admire you for so many things Ginny, and giving you this dress is just a small show of appreciation for being you" then she hugged her, when she pulled away she had tears in her eyes but a happy smile

"Come on, let's get ready!" lavender said enthusiastically as she pushed the dress into Ginny's hands "hurry up and get changed, when you come back, we'll style your hair"

Ginny hurried to the ladies bathrooms inside the dormitories to change into her dress, excitement filling her whole body.

When she was changed, Ginny came out of the bathroom and saw herself in the mirror. Her breath caught at the sight of her reflection

"_Is that really me?"_ Ginny thought in wonder as she continued on staring at her reflection. Indeed, it didn't look like the sporty, one of the guys, Weasley that everyone was used to, instead she looked delectably feminine, the light color of her dress, accenting the vibrant redness of her long hair.

Ginny ran back to the dormitory, eager to finish the make over that lavender has mentioned and see what she would look like after.

When she entered the dorms, she found Lavender wearing a metallic read dress, which made her blonde hair pop out, as she finished up her make up with a quick dab of lip gloss on her pink lips

"Very Gryffindor" Ginny said, admiring lavender's choice of clothes

"Thank you" lavender said pleasantly as she ran a brush through Ginny's long, flaming red hair

"Now just close your eyes and relax" lavender said as she picked something up from the vanity table and applied it on Ginny's face.

A few minutes later Ginny opened her eyes and gasped. She didn't have much make up on, since lavender opted to make her hair the center of her look. Ginny stared at her reflection as her brown eyes sparkled with happiness

_Brown Eyes…Eyes of Earth_

"Hey Ginny, you look great!" Hermione said when she entered the room wearing a dark blue dress that made her hips look incredibly small, and with a neckline that showed enough bust to make her look sexy, but not enough to qualify as sluttish.

"Yeah, she does, doesn't she?" Lavender said proudly, completely forgetting the fact, at least for the moment, that she disliked Hermione very much.

"Let's head downstairs, the party's starting" Hermione said as she held the door open for Ginny and Lavender

"Looking good Granger" Lavender said when she passed her and exited the room.

When they got downstairs, the party was just picking up; people were dancing in the middle of the common room and tables with food and drinks.

"Hey gin, you look really….nice" Ron said when he saw his sister descend the stairs

Ginny laughed and said "yeah, and you're just full of deep words Ron"

"I try" Ron said with a shrug as he walked towards Harry, who had a problematic look on his face

Ginny walked past the dancing Gryffindors and sat down on the couch next to Harry. "Hey, what's the matter, you should be enjoying, not looking like your translating runes." Ginny said with a laugh

Harry laughed as well, and then set his green eyes on Ginny "I would, but your brothers are waiting outside with a crate full of smuggled Firewhisky for the party, and the others won't let me leave the room, saying something about being the hero of the hour."

Ginny laughed once more and said "You're always the hero of the hour Harry. I'll go get them, just tell me where to go."

Harry looked at her like Christmas had come early and said "Thanks a lot gin, you're a life saver!"

Ginny chuckled and said "yes, because everyone would die if Merlin forbid we didn't have Firewhisky in this party"

"Exactly!" Colin Creevey said from behind her as he held a cup of punch in his hands

"Colin Creevey! You aren't even of age yet!" Ginny scolded in a teasing tone

Colin wiggled his eyebrows mischievously and walked towards Dean Thomas who was exchanging chocolate frog card with Seamus Finnegan.

Ginny walked out of the common room and headed for the entrance hall to meet the twins.

"Fred, George! Where the bloody hell are you?" Ginny hissed in the darkness

"Watch your language young lady!" a stern voice said in the darkness

"Who's there?" Ginny said as she turned around to find no one with her in the dark corridors

"Stop scaring the child Rowena!" A motherly sounding voice said

"_Rowena? As in Rowena Ravenclaw?"_ Ginny thought in disbelief as she grabbed her wand firmly and said "Lumos"

A small flicker of light came from her wand and she wasted no time in searching for the mysterious founders

"Up here child!" a hearty voice, bubbling with laughter, said from above her.

Ginny pointed her wand upwards and stared at the four larger-than-life paintings

"Oh! Aren't you a pretty little thing!" Helga Hufflepuff said as she looked down on Ginny from her chair

"Excuse me? But I am not a thing!" Ginny said with indignation, insulted at being referred to as a thing

Helga Hufflepuff smiled fondly at her and said "Such a fiery temper! You're in The Gryffindor house aren't you?"

Ginny stiffly nodded at the imposing figure before her

"Well, it's nice to have such fiery students in my house!" Godric Gryffindor said with a hearty laugh

"You're not a muggle-born witch, are you?" Salazar asked, his voice seemingly cold and detached

"No sir. I happen to be a pureblood." Ginny said softly, suddenly feeling scared in front of the old man

Salazar nodded in affirmation as his cold eyes evaluated Ginny "Yes, a fine young witch we have here." he says finally after a few minutes of tense silence

Suddenly there was another faint source of light coming out of the dungeons

"Ah, finally, a Slytherin" Salazar said, delight obvious in his voice

"Nox" Ginny murmured softly as the light at the tip of her wand vanished

Ginny closed her eyes, silently hoping that the person casting the light wouldn't see her; but unfortunately luck wasn't at her side that night.

"Weaselette? What in Merlin's name are you doing here standing in the dark like that?" Malfoy said when he drew near.

Ginny opened her eyes and found Malfoy looking at her with an appraising smirk.

"What the hell are you looking at Malfoy?" Ginny said, her face flushing a deep red when she noticed Draco sweeping his eyes up and down her body

Draco raised an eyebrow at her and said "You should be flattered; a lot of girls would kill to be in your position right now"

"I'd rather kill myself" Ginny muttered under her breath as she turned away from him

"Hold it right there weasel, what are you doing out here anyway?" Draco asked as he brought his wand up to see her face

"I don't see how it's any of your business, Ferret" Ginny snapped

"Oh, but it is, since I'm a prefect and all that, I'm allowed to interrogate you on what you were doing in the Entrance Hall, standing in the dark, dressed like that" Draco said

But before Ginny could respond, the four giant portraits started talking once more.

"Don't they look wonderful together Rowena?" Helga Hufflepuff said as she gestured to the two students standing below their portraits

"Yes, they do, don't they?" Rowena Ravenclaw said as she peered at them through her dark, wisdom-filled eyes "What do you think Salazar?" she asked as she glanced at the portrait of a tall, man beside her

Salazar Slytherin looked at Draco through his cold, dark, calculating eyes; then he noticed the green and gray scarf wrapped around his next.

"You are in my house, correct?" Salazar asked

Draco merely nodded in reply, wary of the painting before him, which identified himself as Salazar Slytherin

"If I heard that fiery young over there correctly…" Salazar said as she glanced at Ginny. Who had abandoned her futile search for Fred and George and was now watching the conversation between Slytherin and Malfoy "You are related to the Malfoys, is that correct?"

"Yes sir" Draco said

"Then, it would be safe to assume that you are a pure blood, and not some filthy little muggle-born, am I correct?"

Draco's face crumpled in disgust at the mention of a mudblood wizard "Of course not!" Draco said with fierce indignation

"Good, I guess you are worthy to be in my house" Salazar Slytherin finally said

"Enough about your blood purity rubbish Salazar!" Helga said in a teasing tone "Do they look good, or not?"

Salazar Slytherin peered at them once more, his eyes, moving form Ginny to Draco until finally he cleared his throat and said "Yes a handsome couple, indeed. Not to mention that they are both purebloods"

But before the two of them could voice out their disgust for each other, another voice was heard through the dark entrance hall

"Oi Gin! Where the bloody hell are you?" a familiar voice said through the darkness

"Fred? George?" Ginny said uncertainly as she edged closer the sources of the voices

Draco, since he was the one holding the wand with the light, noticed that Ginny was dangerously close to the edge of the grand staircase, normally he would have let the weaselette fall, but seeing that the four founders also saw the edge of the stairs, and were watching Draco, waiting for him to do something, so he swiftly wrapped an arm around the girl's waist and drew her close to him and whispered in her ear "you better be bloody careful weaselette, or else that filthy blood of yours just might blemish the Hogwarts seal that you were about to land on after falling down the stairs" then he took her wand form her hand and said "Lumos" then thrust cit back into her hands "Much better, right?"

Ginny, was stunned at the sudden show of human emotion form Draco Malfoy, but before she could thank him, two identical red heads came out from the darkness.

"There you are, we've been looking everywhere for you" Fred said when they found her

"Nice outfit sis, out for a little night fishing?" George teased as he handed her five pouches filled shrunken boxes of firewhiskey

Before the siblings could bond even more, Draco coughed to let his presence be known to the trio of red heads

"Oh, yeah, here's your firewhiskey Malfoy" George said as he handed a small bag filled with crates of firewhiskey

"That'll be 50 galleons Malfoy" George said in a business-like tone as he consulted a piece of paper

Draco handed him a pouch filled with galleons and turned away but then, Ginny decided that she was being far too nice to the ferret "What's the firewhiskey for Malfoy? Pity party?"

Draco turned back to glare at the girl than stalked off towards the dungeons

Ginny giggled before kissing both of her brothers on the cheek and walked towards Gryffindor tower

When she got to the tower, the party was already at full blast, but since Ginny was the one carrying the alcohol, no one was drunk yet, although a few pairs have occupied a number of dark corners around the common room to snog.

"I have the firewhiskey!" Ginny announced as she strode towards Harry who had just finished setting up a table for the crates

The crowd erupted into cheers as Ginny and Harry return the crates to their normal size and distribute the countless bottles of firewhiskey

"So, what took you so long gin?" Harry asked when he sat down next to Ginny with a glass of firewhiskey in hi hand

"I had weird conversation with the founders of Hogwarts, and Draco Malfoy"

"Ah – Wait, What? What the bloody hell has Draco Malfoy have to do with the Hogwarts founders?" Harry asked

"They seem to think that Ferret and I make a handsome couple" Ginny said, disgust eminent in her voice, but deep down inside, she couldn't help think that "_Would we? Would we make a handsome couple?"_

* * *

"What took you so long Draco?" Blaise asked form his perch on the couch

"The Weasel twins took their bloody time getting here." Draco snarled as he unceremoniously placed the bag with firewhiskey on a table and restored them all of the boxes to their original sizes "Not to mention the fact that I had to deal with the Weaselette."

"I saw her a while ago on the way back from the great hall." Goyle said when he emerged from the boy's dormitories followed by Crabbe.

"Yeah, for a blood traitor and a Weasley, she looked really hot" Crabbe said

Blaise rolled his eyes at the two boys and said "Both of you absolutely have no taste in women"

Suddenly the wall opened to reveal a girl coming in through the passageway

"Hello boys, where is everybody?" Pansy Parkinson asked when she entered the room, only to find; Draco Malfoy, unpacking firewhiskey bottles, Theodore Nott, reading a book at a corner, and Blaise Zabini, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle arguing amongst themselves

"What are they fighting about?" Pansy asked Draco when she went over to him to open one bottle of firewhiskey.

"I don't know, something about the Weaselette" Draco said, impatience present in his voice as he abandoned the other boxes of firewhiskey and poured himself a generous glass of said alcoholic drink.

Pansy rolled her eyes and walked over to the bickering boys, handing each of them a glass of firewhiskey as she went, then she lounged on the couch right next to Blaise and looked at them

"What's this I hear about a quarrel just because of the Weasley girl?" Pansy asked with an amused smirk on her lips

"A hot Weasley girl!" Crabbe said as he glared at the man before him

"But still a Weasley girl!" Blaise retorted as he glared back

Pansy sighed, stood up, and dragged Draco into the middle of the two boys before hissing in his ear "Do something about it!"

Draco glared at the black-haired girl before turning to face his fellow Slytherins "Ok, here's the deal" Draco drawled "Weaselette is hot, we'll give her that, but she's still a blood traitor, a Weasley and most importantly, a Gryffindor"

Crabbe and Goyle opened their mouths to argue further, but were silenced with a cold glare from Draco, and then he looked at them and added "Which means, she's off limits. Got it?"

Crabbe and Goyle sighed in defeat, while Blaise leaned back on the couch once more with a triumphant smirk on his face.

Draco rolled his eyes at the four, set his glass down on a table and walked off towards the dorms while stifling a yawn.

"Good night Draco" Pansy called out behind him afterwards, a few awkward mutterings of good night followed from the four boys

Draco waved his hand carelessly at them, since he was too tired to do anything else that involves more energy then walked off towards the dorms.

When Draco reached the boys' dorms, he headed for his trunk and changed into his pajamas, taking great measures to make himself look good even while asleep. The he tucked himself under the green and silver sheets and closed his eyes.

But for some strange reason he couldn't fall asleep, no matter how much he tossed and turned, he couldn't fall asleep. His blankets felt hot against his skin, but if he removed it, then the cold, drafty dungeon air would meet his already uncomfortable skin.

Draco closed his eyes once more, hoping that sleep would over take him, but he was disappointed, instead a flurry of images ran through his mind, like a photo album, at first the images were a blur, then they slowed and the mental images in his mind seemed to focus only on one person, Ginny Weasley.

"_Why in Merlin's name am I thinking of the she-weasel?" _ Draco thought in confusion after he opened his eyes and rubbed his temple to address an imaginary headache. _"Its probably just the strain of the game earlier, sinking in"_ Draco concluded as he laid back down on the bed and closed his eyes once more.

When sleep finally overtook him, he felt that it was no better than he was awake, it was an uneasy sleep, he would wake up in odd hours in the night then fall back sleep again, and even in his dreams, images of Ginny would filter into his mind, disrupting his usually peaceful slumber.

"Bloody weaselette, bloody quidditch, bloody firewhiskey, bloody Gryffindors" Draco muttered sleepily before he fell into another round of uneasy slumber.

The next day, Draco was walking through the corridors, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle as usual, with Pansy trailing behind him.

"Draco, are you alright? You don't look so good" Pansy asked as they walked to the great hall for breakfast

"I'm fine Pans, really" Draco said as he took his seat

"Ok. If you're sure" Pansy said as she followed Draco's example and sat down between Draco and Blaise and proceeded on eating her breakfast while talking to Millicent Bulstrode

Draco looked down on his breakfast and wrinkled his nose.

"Draco, is something wrong? You're nothing eating, you love this stuff!" Pansy said as she reached for a pitcher of pumpkin juice on the middle of the table and refilled her glass.

"No, nothing's wrong. I just don't have much of an appetite today." Draco said as he looked up from his breakfast and looked around the great hall, watching the students in green, red, blue and yellow accented robes eat their breakfasts.

Suddenly a flash of red by the giant double doors caught his eyes. He turned his silver orbs at them and saw Ginny Weasley enter the great hall, with Longbottom on her side and the crazy Ravenclaw Loony Lovegood on the other.

"Fallen for the Weasel's charm too, Draco?" Blaise said with a disgusted look

Draco rolled his eyes at the dark-skinned boy and riveted his eyes back to Ginny, who was now sitting on the Gryffindor table eating her breakfast while listening to something that Potter whispered to her ear.

"Easy there Draco, I can here you hissing from here" Blaise said with a dry laugh as he rolled his dark brown eyes at the blonde before turning his attention back to his breakfast

"Hey Draco, I thought you said she was hands off?" Crabbe asked with his mouth filled with food

Pansy glared disgustedly at the sight and tossed him a green napkin

"Yeah, Draco, hands off, remember?" Blaise said with an amused smirk on his face

Draco frowned at the recollection but then his face visibly brightened once more and a sly smirk formed on his face

"I don't like that smirk" Blaise said as he took in Draco's facial expression

"We don't either, usually that's the face that comes before we find ourselves in trouble" Crabbe and Goyle said with worried look on their faces

Draco put on a poker face and said "Yes I did say she was off limits"

Blaise then raised a questioning eyebrow at him, suspicious to why he was giving up so easily

"But, then, you al know how much I like to chase after things that are usually forbidden" Draco said with a smirk as he stood up and followed the red-headed Gryffindor out the Great Hall.

Pansy sighed dejectedly as she shook her head, Crabbe and Goyle stared in shock but then shrugged on continued on eating their breakfast, while Blaise had a look of fury on his face.

5640 BLOODY WORDS: D

Ginny walked out of the great hall and headed towards the library with intentions to finish her potions homework before classes started. Then she felt the uncomfortable feeling of being followed.

"What do you want Malfoy?" Ginny asked, venom and irritation laced through her voice

Draco ignored her question and strode towards her, stopping only when she was inches away from his body, then he leaned in close to her and whispered in a deep, husky voice

"You"

Ginny's breath stopped and she felt that everything around her stop, dim then simply fade away.

"N-No" Ginny said breathlessly as she placed her hands on his chest, pushed him away and ran towards the library.

Unfortunately she never made it there, halfway there her tears started flowing down her freckled face, she headed for the hidden alcove that Fred and George showed her in her second year and tucked her legs close to her chest when she was safely inside.

* * *

"Good morning Collin, where's Ginny?" Luna asked when she walked alongside Colin while walking towards the dungeons for the Gryffindor-Slytherin potions class

Colin frowned and said "I don't know, she left breakfast earlier to finish her potions homework, but she hasn't come back yet"

"I'm sure she's fine, this is Ginny Weasley we're talking about here" Luna said in that serene way of hers as she smiled at Colin

"I'm sure you're right" Colin said as he entered the potions lab "come on Luna"

Luna stood there by the doorway, looking around her bag

"What's wrong?" Colin asked

"I seem to have left my potions book upstairs, I'll just go and get it" Luna said as she ran back towards the dungeon exits

"Hurry back, you know how Snape is!" Colin called out as he went inside and joined a bunch of his fellow Gryffindors

Luna ran towards the common room as fast as her slender legs would carry her, but then she heard the sound of someone crying from the alcove hidden behind a tapestry along the corridor. Luna walked over to the tapestry and pulled it back to find Ginny huddled inside the alcove, her pale face red and blotchy from crying and her wonderful brown eyes red and swollen

"L-Luna? How did you find me?" Ginny asked as she hastily wiped her tears with the back of her hand

"This alcove is well known to us Ravenclaws, it's a wonderful place to read and get lost in a book" Luna said as she crouched down to Ginny's level "What happened?"

Ginny then launched herself towards Luna and cried on the girls shoulder "I'm sorry, I'm not usually like this" she said

"Its ok, my mother used to say that one needs a good cry once in a while, its healthy, but its been known to draw Wackspurts" Luna explained "Now, tell me what happened"

Ginny looked away form Luna and said "Oh Luna, it's just wonderful, but it's so terrible as well…I love him Luna, I love him so much, but…it won't work"

Luna nodded, assuring her friend that she knew who he was talking about "I know"

"You do?" Ginny asked as she wiped away the fresh tears that fell down on her face "How?"

"I see the way you look at him" Luna said with a soft smile "It's wonderful"

Ginny smiled a watery smile at her friend but then frowned once more "you know what Trelawney said, if we were ever together, it would cause a lot of damage…I don't want to let people suffer…"

Luna looked at her friend and smiled "Oh Ginny, don't you see? The prophecy is coming true, she never said that you would be causing damage by getting together…you are causing damage…damage to yourself, much more damage than whatever you-know-who could ever cause, because he can't break your heart"

Ginny looked at her friend, understanding lighting up her brown eyes, but Luna was not done yet "It seems that you broke two hearts today your own and his" Luna said as she left Ginny to ponder on her thoughts

* * *

"Bloody women, blood brain, and bloody hormones" Draco Malfoy muttered under his breath as he walked along the corridors doing his prefect rounds

Draco walked on, reviewing the scene in his memory, wondering where it all went wrong.

"Bloody fool, chasing after stupid Gryffindor" Draco muttered to himself as he ran a hand through his hair

"Well my boy, if I wasn't already dead, I would have hexed you for insulting my house" A deep, hearty voice said from behind him

Draco clutched at his chest in surprise and turned around to find himself before the four Hogwarts founders once again.

"Well, if it isn't the little Slytherin boy" Rowena said from her painting "It figures that only a Slytherin would insult the Gryffindors, I do not need my diadem to figure that out"

"Where is that friend of yours? The fiery Gryffindor with a temper?" Salazar asked

"She's no friend of mine" Draco muttered under his breath as he averted the founder's piercing eyes

"But it seemed that you were getting along just fine when we saw you together dear, what happened?" Helga Hufflepuff asked in that motherly tone of hers

"Nothing that shouldn't" Draco muttered as he turned and started walking away

"Now hold it there young man!" Rowena's voice suddenly shouted shrill and stern "we were talking to you and you will not turn your back at us until this discussion is over."

Draco sighed and turned back to face the portraits, then he was suddenly reminded of his mother's hour-long lectures about manners and etiquette.

Rowena opened her painted lips to speak, but before she could utter out any words, Luna came flouncing into the room

"Lovegood, what in Merlin's name are you doing here?" Draco asked

"I was merely heading back for the dungeons; you see, I forgot my potions book upstairs so I had to retrieve it" Luna explained

"Fine then, go on, but 20 points from Ravenclaw for being out in the corridors during class hours" Draco said

"I guess that was called for" Luna said with a shrug as she resumed her way back down the dungeons, but halfway down the grand staircase she turned back to Draco and said "you should talk to Ginny, she's in the hidden alcove by the Ravenclaw entrance behind the tapestry of constellations. She's been crying" then she flounced down turned towards the dungeons.

Draco stared at the dungeon door after the blonde disappeared through it and blinked

"Well, are you just going to stand there boy or are you going to look for that Ginny-girl?" Rowena asked

Draco raised an eyebrow at the woman before him

"Oh, don't bother with her; she's just a little miffed because you subtracted points from her house." Helga said "But you do know that she's right dear. The poor darling, hiding in an alcove while crying; I take it that she doesn't cry often, does she?"

"No, she's quite strong from what I noticed." Draco said

"Well, she should be being in my House!" Godric Gryffindor said proudly "Well dwell the brave of heart!"

Draco rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath "Stupid Gryffindor courage, causes nothing but trouble really" then he walked away from the paintings and headed for the stairs to get to Ginny.

* * *

Draco walked along the corridors near the entrance to Ravenclaw common room looking for a tapestry with constellations

"Ginny, where the bloody hell are you?" Draco asked out loud as he paced along the corridors hoping that a large sign would suddenly appear to point out where ginny is

Suddenly he heard the sound of sniffing and crying from behind a tapestry

Draco turned and ran towards the sound, hoping that it was truly Ginny and not some sniveling little Ravenclaw first year.

Then he drew back the heavy tapestry and saw a curtain of red hair facing him.

"Luna, go back to your potions class, even if you promise me the world, there is no way in hell that I would talk to Malfoy."

"Well, I can't give you the world, but since I'm a Malfoy, I bet I can come close" Draco said awkwardly

Ginny stiffened for a fraction of a second then turned around.

Brown eyes, red from the intense crying, clashed with silver-grayish ones.

"What do you want Malfoy?" Ginny said as she turned her face away from Draco's intense gaze and wiped her tears with the back of her hand

"I thought I already answered that question" Draco said as he drew nearer and gently wiped the tears falling down her face with his thumb

"What are you doing?" Ginny asked as she glared at him through her red and puffy eyes

Draco hesitated for a moment and looked at her. She looked so vulnerable, so scared, so breakable…and he could stand seeing her like this. He sighed deeply, held her chin so that she was facing him, her dark eyes glaring at him questioningly

"I can't stand to see you crying Ginevra" Draco said as he looked deep into her eyes

"Why the bloody hell would you care Malfoy?" Ginny spat

Draco looked at the girl before him with wide eyes, his gray eyes growing black, and then he raked his fingers through his already messy hair "Why do I care? You were supposed to be the brave one Ginevra! The strong one! These past few days, you have driving me nuts, every time a pass you at the corridors, I cannot help myself but pick a fight with you! To see the fire that burns within you" Draco shouted out, not caring whether the whole castle heard him

"_Mother would be mist displeased when she founds out that I yelled at a woman_" a sane part of his mind said

"Are you done yet?" Ginny asked, her voice was cold, but Draco new that what he said had unnerved her

"I was supposed to be the cowardly one" Draco said softly as he lowered his gaze to stare at his hands, which were on his lap "The one who would hide behind the words, the power, the strength and influence of other people. I was raised to take advantage of what was given to me, to turn whatever situation into my favor, to manipulate people to do my wishes. I was supposed to be the one, hiding behind tapestries in hidden alcoves, not you. You're my sun Ginevra, I can only hope, to be as strong as you, to be as brave, to be filled with love and to be loved back"

Ginny looked at the blonde before her with wide, surprised eyes. Then, as if sensing her gaze on him he looked up and found that her eyes were brimming with tears once more

"Ssh...Its ok, really it is.." Draco said, not knowing how to handle the situation since he never really had to deal with a woman's crying before "There's one more thing"

Ginny looked at him questioningly

Draco took a deep calming breath and said "Ginevra Molly Prewett Weasley, I don't know how, why or when, but I do. I love you"

Ginny's heart stopped at the confession then she shook her head as a wave of fresh tears overtook her.

"What's wrong?" Draco asked

"Everything. Don't you see Draco? I love you. That's what's wrong. It would never work between us. I'm practically engaged to Harry for what its worth. Not to mention the deep hatred that runs between us through our families…" Ginny said as she sobbed heavily

Draco stared at her, comprehending what she had just said, then he felt movement from in front of him and saw that Ginny was now once again running from him, tears in her eyes.

"Bloody hell. What is it today? Run away from Draco Malfoy Day?" Draco said dryly as he came out from behind the tapestry and walked off towards the dungeons, in need of a little Firewhisky

* * *

Ginny was running blindly towards the corridors, thankfully classes were going on and the halls were empty. Suddenly she heard a familiar, comforting voice say "What's wrong dear, you look troubled?"

Ginny didn't have to turn around to know that she had unknowingly found herself at the great hall once more. Ginny turned to the four founders and smiled a small, watery smile "I'm fine, really"

Slytherin snorted delicately and said "Stupid Gryffindor courage, now spit it put girl, what's wrong?"

"Salazar, you're scaring the poor child!" Rowena scolded as she glared at the man

"Now, start from the beginning" Rowena said

Ginny explained to the woman what happened, she elaborated fir her the mechanics of being a Gryffindor and how one of the most important things a Gryffindor holds is their hatred for those sorted under the house of Salazar Slytherin, about the hostility between the Malfoys and the Weasleys, her family's expectance of her to marry Harry Potter, the incident with Lucius Malfoy and the Chamber of Secrets, her brothers' hate towards Draco and all that. Unknown to her, a certain platinum-haired boy was listening to the conversion

"I don't know" Ginny sobbed, for she was crying heavily once more "I just don't know, I-I I've never been this confused before"

The founders were saddened by her pain, from what she told them, they gathered that the girl before them had a wonderful heart. She was strong, kind and intelligent and someone like her shouldn't be subjected to this kind of pain. Even Salazar Slytherin was saddened at the sight of the broken Gryffindor in front of him, not because he was going soft for Gryffindors, but because he felt partially responsible for what had happened to her. He did not regret building the chamber of secrets, but he did regret adding to the girl's list of problems.

Draco involuntarily gasped at the mention of his father. He knew that Ginevra had been taken into the Chamber of Secrets when he was in second year, which confused him greatly since she was a pureblood, an the enemies of Salazar Slytherin were not blood traitors but instead mudbloods, but he didn't know that his father had been responsible for her near death experience

He saw Ginny freeze at the spot and wondered what was wrong, until he realized that he had gasped in surprise and she had heard him.

Ginny turned around to look at Draco, her eyes still brimming with tears, her pale, but rosy, cheeks were stained by dried tear tracks. To a casually on looker she might have looked terrible, but to Draco she had never looked more beautiful. He closed the distance between them in three long strides, keeping his gray eyes on her brown ones, and then when he was breath away he kissed her softly.

When they parted Draco wasted no time and held her close to him.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know. I didn't understand." Draco murmured softly in her ear while breathing in the sweet smell of her hair "I love you, please don't push me away"

When they drew apart Draco stared into Ginny's eyes and looked for any sign of rejection in her deep dark eyes, but there was none, he did find happiness, acceptance, forgiveness and maybe a little bit of hope

"What about our families? Everyone?" Ginny asked

Draco smirked confidently at her and said "I've been known to be a spoilt brat, I'm sure they'll all get over it"

Ginny laughed at him and kissed him

Meanwhile at Dumbledore's office, a bet was being won.

"What did we tell you Albus? We told you we could get them together!" The four founders said to the elderly headmaster

"Yes, it seems that you did" Dumbledore said as he contemplated on the tale the four paintings had told them earlier "But, you had help from Sybill"

"She as merely a medium, we did most of the work!" Salazar Slytherin said

Dumbledore smiled and said "Yes, fine, you win"

The four founders beamed at each other in triumph and Helga Hufflepuff said "Right, who's next?"

"That Ravenclaw girl who was a friend of that red-head girl looks nice" Rowena Ravenclaw said

"Yes, and sam goes for the dark-skinned boy in my house!" Salazar said with a smirk

Dumbledore sighed, sat back on his headmaster's chair and thought _"When I become a painting, would I get so bored that I would play matchmaker as well?"_

* * *

yeah, sorry for the crappy ending...


End file.
